The Blood Moon Chosen
927 Words
The crimson moon hung high above the sacred arena.
Its eerie light bathed the stone floor in blood-red shadows.
Kael and Cassian stood face-to-face, their Alpha auras crashing into one another with enough force to send cracks racing across the ancient platform.
The spectators retreated in fear.
Neither Alpha had attacked.
Yet the sheer pressure of their power made it difficult to breathe.
Nysera stepped between them.
“Stop!”
Neither man moved.
Kael’s golden eyes never left Cassian.
“I won’t let another man come near my mate.”
Cassian laughed softly.
“Mate?”
His crimson eyes narrowed.
“You lost the right to call her that the day you rejected her.”
Kael’s jaw tightened.
“I made a mistake.”
“A mistake?”
Cassian’s voice echoed across the arena.
“You shattered her heart before your entire pack.”
“You abandoned the woman destiny chose for you.”
“And now you expect forgiveness?”
Every word struck Kael like a blade.
He had no defense.
Because every accusation was true.
The High Priestess raised her staff.
“The Second Trial has begun.”
“The Trial of Blood cannot be interrupted.”
“If the challengers refuse to fight…”
“…the temple itself will decide the victor.”
Suddenly…
Ancient runes ignited beneath their feet.
The entire arena glowed silver.
The ground trembled violently.
Before anyone could react, chains of moonlight burst from the stone.
They wrapped around Kael.
Around Cassian.
Around Nysera.
The three of them were dragged toward the center of the arena.
“What is happening?” Nysera cried.
Master Rowan’s face turned pale.
“The temple…”
“…has changed the trial.”
The High Priestess closed her eyes.
“The Moon Crown has judged.”
“The true enemy is not before the Queen…”
“…but within her heart.”
The chains vanished.
In their place…
Three identical doors rose from the arena floor.
Each shimmered with silver light.
Above the first door appeared the image of Kael.
Above the second…
Draven.
Above the third…
A dark silhouette with glowing crimson eyes.
Nysera stared in confusion.
“What do they mean?”
The High Priestess answered quietly.
“Behind one door lies your greatest happiness.”
“Behind another…”
“…your greatest regret.”
“And behind the last…”
“…the future of every werewolf alive.”
Far above the arena…
Draven watched from the royal balcony.
His heart pounded.
Every instinct told him to run to her.
Yet he couldn’t move.
The rules of the trial bound even the Lycan King.
His wolf growled.
She must choose alone.
Nysera walked slowly toward the doors.
The image of Kael flickered.
She remembered the pain.
The rejection.
The humiliation.
The lonely nights when she believed no one would ever love her.
She closed her eyes.
Then she looked at Draven’s door.
She remembered his kindness.
His unwavering support.
The way he believed in her long before she believed in herself.
A smile touched her lips.
Finally…
She faced the third door.
No face.
Only darkness.
Yet…
Something deep inside her soul called to it.
Her Moon Mark burned.
Lyra stirred within her.
“Be careful,” her wolf whispered.
“That door is hiding the truth.”
Nysera reached out.
The moment her fingers touched the third door—
The arena disappeared.
Darkness swallowed everything.
A child’s laughter echoed through the void.
Then…
She saw them.
A man and a woman standing beneath a silver tree.
The woman cradled a newborn baby wrapped in moon-white cloth.
The man smiled proudly.
“Our daughter will save this world.”
Nysera’s breath caught.
Her parents.
Alive.
Tears filled her eyes.
Before she could reach them.
The sky turned black.
A monstrous figure cloaked in shadows descended from the heavens.
His crimson sword pierced her father’s chest.
Her mother screamed.
She clutched the baby tightly.
“Run!”
A young warrior appeared from the forest.
He grabbed the infant.
“No!”
Nysera shouted.
She tried to run toward them.
She couldn’t move.
She watched helplessly as flames consumed the Moonborn Palace.
Thousands died.
The kingdom fell.
The shadowed figure slowly turned.
For the first time…
She saw his face.
It wasn’t the Shadow Emperor.
It was…
Someone wearing the Moonborn royal crest.
One of their own.
A traitor.
Nysera gasped as the vision shattered.
She found herself back in the arena.
Her knees hit the ground.
She couldn’t breathe.
“It wasn’t the Shadow Emperor…”
She whispered.
“My family…”
“…was betrayed from within.”
The crowd fell silent.
Even the High Priestess looked shocked.
“The temple revealed the hidden memory.”
Master Rowan stepped forward.
“Then the prophecy was incomplete.”
Before anyone could ask another question.
A chilling laugh echoed through the mountains.
Every torch went out.
The temperature dropped.
A massive crack split the arena floor.
From the darkness below…
A hand emerged.
Then another.
An army of shadow wolves began climbing out of the earth.
At their head stood a hooded figure holding a black staff.
He slowly lowered his hood.
His face was scarred.
His eyes glowed silver.
And on his chest…
Was the same Moonborn royal crest.
He smiled at Nysera.
“Welcome home…”
“…Princess.”
Nysera’s heart nearly stopped.
The man bowed respectfully before her.
Then he spoke the words that shattered everything she thought she knew.
“I did not kill your parents…”
”…your brother did.”
- Writer
